We all have our comfort zones, it’s a state where you feel safe or at ease, it shouldn’t be mistaken for an actual place, it's more of a mental/emotional setting that defines our daily life. Basically, it means familiarity, safety.

“Your life starts at the edge of your comfort zone”

- Anonymous

If you are familiar with this quote then telling you how important it is to step out of it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Being in a comfort zone is not healthy for your life, we will share with you the benefits of escaping your comfort zone.

It makes you become more productive

One of the many hazards of staying in one’s comfort zone is that is bars you from being productive, and more, it stops you from chasing your dreams. Once you are able to break that emotional barrier, you automatically become more productive as you will become more eager to break more boundaries. You become more ambitious. You’ve heard of the Serena Williams, Oprahs, and Beyoncés of this world. These ladies are great at what they do not because they wake up every morning to do the same thing but because they have chosen to step out of their comfort zones and train hard. Amazingly, most of them still feel ambitious even after all their staggering achievement. So, if you want to be more, you have to do more.

It unleashes your creativity

You will never be creative if you stay and think within the box. No one is asking you to break the rules, but won't it hurt to bend them a little. Pablo Picasso once said “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist”. This is true! But you can only do this if you are willing to step out of that “everyday normal” life of yours. When we are able to push your boundaries, try new things and learn, you become more skilled and creative. And this doesn’t just apply to the artist, it applies to everyone.

You will grow

When we say “grow”, it applies to every part of our life, including our body. I use to be a skinny girl, was laughed at by many. So, one day, I decided to change my diet and do more exercise, this was not my “daily routine” but I had to. It was pretty difficult at first, but now I’m reaping the benefit, and I feel more comfortable now. But don’t get me wrong, that’s just part of the whole package. Growing for you might be acquiring more knowledge on something. On your path to greatness, you learn new things and become a better you, this is something you will never get if you stay in your comfort zone.

Prepares you for the coming opportunity

The fight between David and Goliath changed David’s life for good, but that was not how his story started. While he was in the forest, taking his father’s sheep to feed, he had to fight bears, Lions, and snakes, he didn’t stay in his comfort zone. And when that opportunity came for him to fight Goliath, rather than seeing it as a problem, he saw it as an opportunity, that’s how stepping out of your comfort zone makes you feel. Chances/opportunities can come at any time, and even though it might appear as a problem at first, with the right preparation, it becomes an opportunity.

So, just as in Ellen Johnson Sirleaf once said “if your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough”. If it's your dream to become a great person in life, it is possible, but you will need to step out of your comfort zone first.

Every day we face challenges, decisions, and circumstances that increase our stress levels and occasionally wear us out. According to Norman Vincent Peale, “A change in your thoughts, changes your world”. Also, your thoughts over the years are your present reality –how you view something becomes your truth. Think about it for a moment!

There is a story of a boy, who had a difficult time in school and decided to quit. Having made his decision, he shared his experience with his father. His father placed three pots filled with water on a burner.

Inside the first pot, he placed carrots, the second he placed eggs and in the third, he placed coffee beans. After boiling for some time, he placed the three items before his son to observe and taste. He touched the carrots which were soft – unlike before. Also, he broke the eggs and realised the eggs were hard.

When he sipped a cup of the coffee bean, he savoured the sweet aroma and asked his father what he meant. His father explained, the three objects – carrot, egg, and coffee bean –faced the same situation but, reacted differently, after which he asked him – which of these items are you?

You can decide to be soft-hearted like the carrot, tough like the egg or change your circumstances entirely like the coffee beans. Basically, how you react under any circumstance depends on your thought paradigm. Consequently, making positive changes that will change your circumstances begins with your thought process.

Facing difficult circumstances regularly can break you and change the way you think and respond to such situations. However, you have the power to change your circumstances by changing your thoughts and attitudes.

The power of the mind

Your mind is the seat of creation and you are the architect – consciously or unconsciously. The mind is like a garden, you can cultivate it with positive thoughts in order to yield the harvest you desire or allow weeds (negative thoughts) to destroy your garden.

Typically, how you think determines the quality of your life – contented or unhappy. When you nurture happy, positive, optimistic thoughts and emotions, your subconscious mind picks it and assumes it is the reality you want in your life. The subconscious mind brings to reality both positive and negative thoughts.

Given that your mind influences your circumstances, the way you think will either affect your life negatively or positively. Therefore, changing your circumstances using the power of your mind is by being conscious of the thoughts you allow into your mind.

How to change your circumstances

Blaming someone or something for your current circumstances brings a temporary relief to most people. Nonetheless, this approach does not provide the comfort you hope to find. However, taking responsibility for your circumstances, changing your thoughts and attitudes is the best way to change your current situation.

Quit playing the blame game

The first step to changing your circumstances is to stop playing the blame game – stop blaming events or someone for your circumstances. Yes, people and events influence your circumstance but you have to take responsibility for the role you play.

Now that you know that your thoughts determine your reality and circumstances, you may want to look back and analyse the decisions that create your circumstances. Besides, accepting some responsibility for your situations gives you the will to change your circumstances and your life.

If you blame others for your circumstances, you give them the power to influence your life. If you doubt the role you played in your current circumstances, a look at your thought paradigm will convince you. These questions about your thoughts should help:

• Are your thoughts predominantly negative?

• Is your thought filled with anger, hate or resentment?

• Do you dwell on your past failures?

• Do you believe you can’t succeed?

If you answered yes to the above questions, then you attracted the negative situations into your life. Accept that you are responsible for your circumstances and believe you can change it.

Examining your choices will speed the process of accepting your responsibility. Look back at the choices you’ve made and observe how you could have made a better one by changing your thoughts. In addition, not playing the blame game, gives you the power to channel that energy and change your thoughts.

Change your attitude and change your mind

Changing the way you think begins by being aware of your thoughts and making sure they are positive before your subconscious mind picks them up. Your actions are the direct manifestation of your choices.

Clearly, to change your circumstances, have a sense of fulfilment and happiness – there must be a change in the way you think. The beauty of the mind is that it is willing to adopt any changes you decide to feed it.

Like the coffee bean, your attitude towards your circumstances determines if it changes or not – you need to decide how to you respond – positively or negatively. It follows that a negative attitude attracts negative circumstance and a positive attitude attracts a positive circumstance.

Controlling your thought is a decision you have to make every day. It is a conscious choice, and best tackled from the roots of our thoughts. Below is a list of ways you can change your thoughts.

• Create positive affirmations

Positive affirmations are very powerful as well as negative affirmations. Affirmations are thoughts or phrase your repeat always; positive affirmations are like mantras – they carry a spiritual force with them. One example is the one I use when I feel like giving up – I can do it if I put my mind to it.

Create your own affirmation, by making it forceful and determined! I can, I will, I am going to – and your mind will change to create your affirmation.

• Count your joys and blessings

Gratitude unlocks more blessing and fullness of life. It turns denial to acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarify and what you have into more.

Be grateful for what you have now – no matter how small, even if your circumstances are not what you want.

Everyone has a talent or a gift they can use and cultivate to add value to their lives. Though for many, their talents remain untapped, mostly because of their mindset.

Many people believe society is unfair and structured not to favor them because they do not know how to utilize their talents in a way that it beneficial to them to enhance their lives. Negative belief systems keep their potential trapped. You are defined by your thoughts. Those thoughts lead to actions that can make or mar our quality of life. Those thoughts determine how far you go in life or how well you live.

How To Step Up With Purpose was birthed with the objective of helping women tap into their inner gifts and transform their lives. The program intends to expose the limitless possibilities of the mind and its enigmatic potentials.

It is a project conceptualized and founded in September 2015, by Latina Sabb, to empower the women who choose to make bold changes in their lives. It leverages diverse values, virtues, and principles that soar you to new heights. This is done by using Godly principles to stir a new consciousness within their hearts - The consciousness of creativity, healthy thought, healthy living, and above all, living self-fulfilled life.

Latina Sabb is a veteran of the United States Air Force. She is currently a civil servant in Columbia, South Carolina. She decided to start the amazing Step Up With Purpose after God revealed her own purpose; helping women become who and what they want to be. The process was not exactly easy. Latina struggled with her own limiting beliefs but ultimately overcame them because she knew she was doing exactly what she was called to do. She knows first hand how the wrong beliefs and thoughts can sway you from taking action and feeling defeated. She will guide you and give you the tools needed to start walking in your purpose.

The program is structured to last 6 weeks. Upon its conclusion, it is expected that you are prepared to take a leap from where you are currently to where you are created to be. Courses explore bible standards, principles, virtues and values that recreate your mind from pessimistic views to optimistic. Also to embrace positive growth, opportunities, and creativity.

Discussions are usually done in groups. Participants engage in guided discussions, personal reflections, and activities. All these are geared towards exploring transformation principles which helps you reach your peak. During the course of study, you will be directed on how to make decisions that improve your relationship with God, your family, your career, finances, and health. You will be taught how to be in charge of your life, thoughts and other habits that can ruin people who leave them unchecked.

Step Up With Purpose partners Church, women support groups, girls scout, women, community initiatives among others.

Weekly sessions explore topics such as:

"What Are You Waiting For?"

"As A Man Thinketh"

"Write The Vision, Make It Plain"

"Get Her Done"

"The Power of Partnerships"

"The Power To Get Wealth"

Most people do not understand thought defines you. It is said, "As a man thinketh, so is he”. If you allow the right thoughts to flood your heart and mind, success is inevitable. Once the mental blocks are dealt with, everything will begin to fall into place. Do not hold the belief that those who reach their peak in life and business are extremely lucky. You too can live the life you want, you may just require the right guidance.

As a result of negative belief systems, many have missed glaring opportunities which could have placed them on the right path. Many times we turn down opportunities because we are scared, think we are not capable or worried what others will think if we “step outside our box”. These are all examples of limiting beliefs and negative thoughts, in which the program will help you work through.

Success is not a wishful daydream. It requires consistent effort, which you continue to push until you turn your dreams to realities; your visions of material success. The story of many great people today did not start as fairy tales. In some cases, they are stories of pains, fears, dreams, hope, faith, and consistency. Success is available to those who desire it, embrace it and work towards achieving it.

Step Up With Purpose is centered on the vision that God created every woman to reach her peak in life by contributing her talents and gifts to make the world a better place. Such contribution can only come when a woman discovers herself, her potentials and inherent qualities that make her a co-creator and co-worker of God for great accomplishments. Step Up With Purpose targets the women's mind, body, and soul as tools of personal advancement and self-rediscovery.

There is always more for you; that is God's plan for His daughters. Step Up With Purpose is created to reinforce this belief within your heart of hearts. It is tailored to feed your consciousness that limitation is a menace that uses fear, depression, anxiety, and negativity as its warring tools.

You are not taught to become a super-woman overnight, but you are stirred to start becoming one. A woman who sees challenges as a stepping stone to greatness. A woman who takes charge and mastery of her life, her thoughts, and her affairs. A conscious co-worker with God who lives an impactful life.

Step Up With Purpose will help you to achieve your full potentials This is made possible when you work through the necessary steps towards holistic health, mind, body, and soul. At Step Up With Purpose, you are told not to be like other woman, but to be the best of what you need to be.